Jenksismyhero

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 12:48 PM) You guys really need to take the blinders off. Illinois an elite job. GMAB. Does it have better potential then Iowa or Wisconsin and is it a better job then those schools, absolutely (I only throw Iowa in the mix because I'm an Iowa fan and wanted to show the fact that I am not blinded and don't see Iowa as the better job). It probably is the 4th or 5th best job in the conference but lets not act like you are selling recruits to play in downtown Chicago here. Yes they have a nice recruiting base, but there isn't really a lot that differentiates Illinois from some of the other big midwest schools near Chicago. If Illinois was in downtown or a 15 minute drive from downtown, that would be another story. Because it's happened two times before in the last 30 years? I mean, let's get the definition of "elite" out of the way. "Elite" requires some degree of traditional success with national championships, so no, they're not going to be a "traditional elite." Could they become a perennial conference title/final four contender and top 10-15 team? Yes. I'd consider that elite and i'd consider that attainable for a program like Illinois which could - and should - own Chicago, the biggest city in the state. Even if you miss out on 1-2 big names in Chicago, there is plenty of talent you can lock down to be an elite program.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 12:58 PM) Oh, and just because we're kind of on the subject... This also happened. They took one product, made it into another, different tasting product, it was hugely successful. So now they're creating a third new product. What's wrong with that?

QUOTE (Jake @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 12:37 PM) Why buy those little packets when you could a tube of it and add exactly which ingredients you want? Ingredients 100% NATURAL WHOLE GRAIN QUAKER QUALITY ROLLED OATS. But I want it to be INSTANT with PEACHES & CREAM and I want it to contain NOTHING BUT ORIGINAL, GOD-INTENDED OATMEAL. It's just Big Oatmeal forcing me to eat their delicious, addictive product.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 12:45 PM) But that's the point. They can and do make this exact product with 1/3 as many ingredients and sell it overseas for effectively the same price. We get the preservative laden version by choice of their investors (and because the government doesn't say no). Logically this makes no sense. It's going to cost the company more money to put more additives into their products. I'm sure this is based on geographical considerations and regulations.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 12:21 PM) I can't see anything at peapod, but if it's the same version I get at my grocery store, here's an example ingredient list. If you cut that ingredient list in half, I'd happily pay more for it and all that it would be is the same product sold in the UK. OK, well "peaches and cream" isn't bare bones oatmeal so...

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 11:54 AM) it was just a lame joke about food preservatives and "expired" lol, i see. went over my head.

There is absolutely no doubt that was a bad call. Watch the trajectory of the ball as it perfectly matches the hand of the Miami player coming down. Paul might have touched it, but the Miami player hit it away.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 09:58 AM) His point was that Illinois is a better job because its lower stress, etc. The hell with that and I don't buy it. Illinois isn't one of the best jobs in its conference. That will make it harder for them to win at the elite level. At UCLA you are the best job in your conference and while their is pressure, these guys are winners and want to win it all. Thats why they do this. A young guy like Shaka...he can fail at UCLA and then go get an Illinois job. He should go for the best. Clearly he's going to stay in his comfort zone until whatever his perfect job is comes to him. People that strive to be the very best at what they do (and that is the case with most of these guys coaching at the D1 level) don't just say ahhh, this is as good as it gets. Maybe at some point they get to that point, but a young upstart, hell no. That isn't his nature so it is a stupid argument to me. If he wants comfort, he can just be the top dog in his little s*** conference and win every year. You don't have to buy it, but it's pretty telling that he was THIS close to coming to Illinois, and he immediately said no to UCLA. The dude just does not want to make the jump to a major major power. And i'm not sure that I blame him. He's making more than enough money right now, he plays in a weaker conference and he can consistently get into the tournament. And no, Illinois isn't one of the best jobs in the conference right now. It's probably 6th behind Indiana, OSU, MSU, UM and WI. But in terms of potential it would be right up there at the top. As soon as someone wins big and keeps the Chicago recruits it'll be the next elite team in the country. And yes I'm fully aware that statement has been made for the last 30 years and it has yet to happen, but Kruger/Self brought the program back to the nationally elite level that Henson had it at before Pearl f***ed it up. And we'd still be at that level if Weber hadn't f***ed us for a decade. Really, IU is the only "for sure" traditional power because of their 5 NC's. Izzo brought MSU to that level but that's been the last 10-15 years. OSU's good run has been about a decade and I really wonder what happens when Matta leaves because of his health. Michigan hasn't done anything for 20 years though this current run might start a big upswing. And Wisconsin is a great program, but it's maxed out basically what it can be.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 11:27 AM) something ironic about a link that brings me to an "expired" page You have to put in your zipcode at peapod before you can see the products, so my link didn't work for you. It's the quaker instant oatmeal for 3 bucks.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 09:18 AM) The thing that drives me nuts in terms of lack of competition is that there shouldn't be a price driver towards the more processed stuff. If I went to the UK, I could buy a box of instant oatmeal that isn't loaded with preservatives. Some sugar yes, but you know, 4-5 ingredients, for a comparable price as a preservative loaded box here in the US. But to buy that same quality of oatmeal in the US, I have to find a high priced organic box; the only option I'm given at an affordable price point is the preservative loaded option. They actually make better versions of the same product to sell overseas at normal prices, but those versions are unavailable to the american consumer. What's your definition of a preservative loaded box? http://www.peapod.com/itemDetailView.jhtml...M=1364487520155 This has some additional elements to increase the volume of the oatmeal. Is that really bad though? Keep in mind too that a lot of random crap added to food is because of the way we ship/process it. But that again goes to availability in areas where the food is from half way around the world. I don't discount that we're all hopped up on corn syrup. But you don't have to be, and as we discussed a few months back, doing so is a personal choice not generally motivated by finances. People choose to eat processed foods when it's cheaper and healthier to eat fresh produce.

Food is an industry where you have a bazillion choices. Not sure how you can claim that Wall Street has limited consumer options. Think about the incredible amount of selection we have.

QUOTE (buhbuhburrrrlz @ Mar 27, 2013 -> 09:44 PM) Lol, that is the greatest gif.

f*** YES

Bulls playing not to lose. And Boozer playing like a f***ing moron.

Oh s***, Captain Kirk.

f***ing Boozer, make some f***ing free throws.

OMG HOW IS THAT A CONTINUATION HE TOOK THREE STEPS AFTER THE FOUL

God, if Rose wasn't such a p****. The Bulls get after this team like no one else in the NBA. Maybe the Celtics but they suck.

f*** that, James went after Boozer with his shoulder/arm. That's a flagrant.

LOLz, more posterizing of Bosh.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 27, 2013 -> 09:45 AM) I don't know that I have a good fix here. Maximum wage laws would be one potential solution. You can't really rely on consumer choice to prevent this sort of thing, though. There's a limited number of producers that all engage essentially in the same behavior. Even when a company adopts a philosophy of treating its employees well, it's couched in economic/profits language. One example of this is Costco vs. Sams Club. Costco's founder and CEO believes in treating his employees well and offers much better pay and benefits than Sams Club. However, he has to justify this to the board on terms of "employee retention" and "better moral=more efficient workers," ie how it ultimately helps profits. Otherwise, he'd be out on his ass and replaced with someone focused solely on generating the maximum possible return for investors. Our current structures reinforce this ideology, that the only thing that a company should care about is pursuing profits at all expense. Management is rewarded for cutting wages and sending jobs overseas because investors get bigger profits. The notion of any sort of social responsibility for a company is nonexistent. The management team that doesn't follow these profit-maximizing goals is going to find itself out on its ass in a short manner, and you can never ignore the larger Walmart-type effects. Sure, niche markets can exist where higher-quality products and made and sold at higher profits (I have hiking socks that are $8 a pair, lol), but on the larger scale, it'll never work. Even if the Walmart cycle ultimately is terrible for communities in the longterm by driving out local retail and manufacturing, they're going to win in the short-term based solely on price. Here's a book that covers what I'm saying much better than I can: TOM SLEE: NO ONE MAKES YOU SHOP AT WAL-MART, CHAPTER 1 As far as "deciding if they want to work for a company[...]," that presumes a lot more choice than most people in the labor market actually have, especially these days. I'd argue that a lot of "perks" for employment by companies came about because the labor force demanded them. I work for a small law firm and get nothing. My wife works for a hospital and gets a ton of benefits - pension, retirement contribution, health club memberships, one time payments for getting an annual checkup, etc. The CEO and board are still worried about spending money (they're a non-profit, so slightly different situation, but i'm other private hospitals and businesses are the same) but they still offer those perks. They don't need to, but they think it's a way to attract better applicants. Google/Apple/most of silicon valley does the same thing. So while I agree that capitalism is just about chasing the almighty dollar, capitalism can still result in the every man receiving good social benefits. And we can't look at Wal-mart as if they'll be around for all time. They're going to have competitors (Target, Costco, etc) that will do things differently and the money will follow. Starbucks, Whole Foods, Chipotle are all relatively new brands that are financially successful in their respective industries largely due to the fact that people like the way they do business for their employees and in their communities.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 27, 2013 -> 12:17 PM) I shall redbox it. I'm thinking this too. What do people think about the atmosphere/setting in the clouds? 99.9% of the awesomeness of the first Bioshock was the sense that you were underwater in the dark. I played that game at 2am with the lights off and the sound cranked up and scared myself silly multiple times. I don't think I can get the same feeling being up in the clouds.

First time ever as a head coach and you start in the Big Ten...with the worst facilities in the conference. Good luck Mr. Collins. Wonder how Crawford feels about the Champaign-Urbana area.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 26, 2013 -> 02:04 PM) e.g. Meet the CEO Who Cut Worker Pay in Half While Pulling in $21 Million Last Year What would be your fix here? Federal law capping CEO pay? I'm not sure I'd be ok with that, but I think a federal law mandating public disclosure (and by public, I mean really public, not just SEC filings) of these sorts of figures. Let the people decide if they want to buy products from companies like that. Let people decide if they want to work for a company like that.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 27, 2013 -> 09:26 AM) Nah, it's just that people, including Congressmen, tend to vastly overestimate the amount of "waste, fraud and abuse" that's actually in the system. And people, including Congresspersons (sexist!) equally tend to vastly overestimate the amount of harm rolling back some programs to spending levels from 2 years ago will cause.